Integrative Sports Medicine Bulks Up for Fall Debut

A new sports medicine program designed to stand out from similar programs through NUNM’s signature “lifestyle medicine” is readying for classes beginning in fall 2017. The new program seeks to use existing ties and forge new ones with Portland’s growing cluster of athletics business such as Nike and Adidas.

The university’s latest academic offering, a Master of Science in Integrative Sports Medicine (MSiSM) program was approved late last year. Now comes more “heavy lifting,” identifying faculty, putting together the curriculum, and securing space to house the program.

Dean of the School of Research & Graduate Studies Heather Zwickey said, “The integrative medicine focus of our program is fairly unique. We take a decidedly natural medicine approach to athletic enhancement, injury prevention and injury treatment. We don’t advocate performance-enhancing drugs.”

Nutrition and exercise are at the root of disease prevention, she said, yet physicians are rarely trained in exercise science. The new program seeks to fill that gap through training that provides “our students and graduates tools beyond what is available in the ‘conventional’ marketplace,” she said.

The MSiSM program is available only to NUNM students as a concurrent program in 2017, with plans to market a standalone option to other healthcare professionals in 2018.